WAILUKU, Maui — Officials at Maui County's two domestic violence shelters are worried about facilities and clients as the state has cut back the agencies' contracts from a year to only three months.

Stacey Moniz, executive director of Women Helping Women, which runs the 24-hour domestic violence shelter on Maui, said that the change comes at a time when people need the shelters the most. She said she's not sure how the shelter will run with only a three-month contract.

"It just seems so counterintuitive during a time when the economy is crazy, the violence is going up, to shut us down, which is what can happen. It doesn't sound like a smart idea," Moniz said.

Instead of issuing a one-year contract for domestic violence shelters statewide, as shelter officials expected, the state has issued a three-month contract, which will run from this month through September, according to a letter written by the Shelter Subcommittee of the Hawaii State Coalition Against Domestic Violence.

But Lillian Koller, director of the state Department of Human Services, said that the short extension is to allow the department to review its purchase of service contracts. The department does intend to fund the contracts for the rest of the year, she said.

Koller said that the domestic violence programs are not being singled out but are part of a systemic review officials are undertaking as part of the state's budget crisis.

Rather than trying to change contracts when they are already signed, the department has extended the domestic violence shelter contracts for three months to allow for the review, she said. If the review is positive, the contracts will be extended for nine months.

Amendments to the contract could be language changes or a provision for an agency to provide more data to the state, which could prevent cuts, Koller said.

The letter from the shelter subcommittee also mentions that the state has cut funding to the shelters, which Koller said isn't true.

She said the shelters are receiving the same amount of funding they have in the past. But "add on" funding that the shelters received when the economy was good — and there were funds available — is being withheld for now and could be released later, she said.

Kammy Purdy, program director at Hale Ho'omalu, the 24-hour domestic violence shelter on Moloka'i, said that she was surprised to hear that her agency's contract with the state is only for three months.

She said that she is worried about what will happen next and if the contract will be extended.

Purdy said her program's staff members already have discussed tightening their belts, and they have said they would be willing to volunteer their time if necessary.

Moniz said she is not clear where her shelter stands in terms of state funding, either.

"How am I supposed to plan when I don't know the bottom line?" Moniz asked.

Moniz said state funding pays for half the costs of running the shelter. The rest comes from the county, other nonprofits, trusts and foundations and donations.

Moniz and Purdy said their organizations do more than just run the 24-hour shelters; they also provide services such as advocacy and abuse prevention.